2 TIMOTHY 4:9-222008 Teaching by Jerry B Simmons

Teaching Transcript: 2 Timothy 4:9-22

You are listening to FerventWord, an online Bible study ministry with teachings and tools to help you grow deeper in your relationship with God. The following message was taught by Jerry Simmons in 2008. The words that we read together this morning are the last words that we have recorded from the Apostle Paul. 2 Timothy being the last book that we have that he wrote is now coming to an end and we're finishing up.

His words to this young man named Timothy. Now we'll be looking in the next few weeks at Titus and Philemon, also written by the Apostle Paul. But chronologically, this was the latest book written, probably about 67 or 68 A.D. At this point, as you know, the Apostle Paul is in prison for the second time in Rome.

The first time he was held for a while, but then he was released. But this time, Paul had just finished telling Timothy in verses 6-8 that he was expecting not to live this one out. He was expecting that he would be executed shortly as a result of his trial in Rome.

And although he is the Apostle Paul, and we have great admiration for the Apostle Paul, although he has great faith in God, and he has a wonderful relationship with God, we find the Apostle Paul, in writing this book, in writing these last words, he is a man who is in need. He's in the midst of hard times. Although he has great faith and a great relationship with God, he is a man who is in need.

The circumstances that he's in, being in prison and waiting execution, are still difficult for him. Throughout this time, I've been sharing with you that you are a Timothy. Well, this morning, I want to also encourage you that you're also a Paul. Because like Paul, we've been called into the ministry, and like Paul...

In this life, we face difficult days, hard times, and things we do not understand. And this morning, by looking at Paul's example, there's four things for us to learn that we might follow his example when we face hard times. Number one, Paul will show us that we need to bring people close to us. We need to establish relationships that we might have support during our difficult times.

Number two, Paul will share with us that we need to get into the Word of God and spend time in the Bible. Number three, Paul will model for us that we need to let God avenge and not take vengeance in our own hands. And then number four, Paul will show us that we need to focus on the Lord. We need to be consumed by Him.

There's several elements to that, but let's start out looking at bringing people close. We find this in verses 9 through 12. Let's start in verse 9. Verse 9, Paul says, Be diligent to come to me quickly. Be diligent, he says. It means do your best to come to me quickly. Paul is there in prison, and like I said, he is in need.

Throughout his years of ministry, we see through the book of Acts and all of the letters that he has written, Paul the Apostle always had people around him. He had other guys that he was training up, other guys that were serving alongside with him that were co-laborers and people that he was encouraging and ministering to. He surrounded himself with brothers and sisters in the Lord. One count, I haven't verified it myself, but I imagine that it's true. One gentleman said that

If you look at all of the names mentioned with Paul in the book of Acts or mentioned by him through his epistles, it adds up to a little bit over a hundred names. A hundred people that Paul always had around him that he was ministering to. There was different people at different times in different places, but he always had people around him who he was ministering to, but also that would be able to minister to him.

The point is to bring people close because the Christian life is not meant to be lived alone. God has designed us to need one another. If you're a believer in Jesus Christ, you cannot stand on your own. God has designed us, he's designed the body of Christ, that we have a need for one another.

1 Corinthians chapter 12, Paul addresses this as he talks about the body of Christ and he deals with several different elements. But in verse 21 he says, The eye cannot say to the hand, I have no need of you. Nor again the head to the feet, I have no need of you. The point is, we're a part of the body of Christ and we can't disown others in the body of Christ and say, I don't need you. We can't separate ourselves and be just all by ourselves.

and still be a part of the body of Christ. God has called us to be a part of the body of Christ, and we need each other. We are dependent upon each other. You are not called to fly solo. You're not called to be the Christian lone ranger. Instead, you need to have solid brothers and sisters in the Lord around you. The Apostle Paul surrounded himself with godly men and women. But at this point, as he is writing this letter, they've all left him.

Now some of them were for good reasons. Not all of them were though. But at this point, Paul has been left alone in prison. And so he calls out to Timothy, come quickly to me. Timothy, I'm here. Only Luke is with me, he'll go on to say. I need you here.

He's reaching out to Timothy. He's calling out to Timothy because, again, he is in need. He's facing difficult times. There's much trouble awaiting him. And although he has a relationship with God and faith in God, God has designed us with a need for one another. And so Paul is humble enough. He's open enough. He's bold enough to call out and to bring Timothy to him that Timothy might assist him and encourage him and minister to him in his time of need.

This is such a good example for us. Oftentimes when we are facing difficult times, we tend to kind of hole up when we're in trial and separate ourselves and try to deal with it on our own. If everyone around us leaves us when we're going through difficult times, we often pout about it and try to show them that we don't need them. And so we try to do it on our own. But from the Apostle Paul, we learned that we're not to fly solo. We're not to be the lone ranger.

We need to. It's okay to. In fact, we should call out to those around us, to those that are faithful, to those that we can trust, to bring them close to us. We need relationships with one another. We need to have those links and those bonds that we might minister to one another, but that also that we might be ministered to because we will have those times as well. In verse 10 says,

Paul talks about why he's alone. He says, As he talks about the reasons why he's alone, he first lists this man named Demas. We don't know a whole lot about this man named Demas. He's mentioned only three times in the scripture, three times all of them in Paul's letters, once in Colossians.

Once in the book of Philemon and then also here in 2 Timothy. Demas was a companion of Paul for some time and yet we find here that Demas has forsaken him. Why? Well, Paul tells us because he loved this present world. His focus, his perspective got a little bit skewed. Although he'd been with the Apostle Paul for some time, Paul says he loved this world and so he left me, he forsook me.

He abandoned me. Instead of looking to eternity, Demas loved this present world. He was caught up in the things of this life. And it caused him to abandon or to forsake the Apostle Paul. Because he loved this present world. This is a sad statement that unfortunately is true of many who have named the name of Christ. They've walked, perhaps like Demas, with great men of God. They've been around Christ.

And yet, later on, it's shown that they have loved this present world and they make a decision to abandon. Demas is always a reminder to me to take heed. You know, the scripture says, to him who thinks he stands, take heed lest he fall. And Demas is a good reminder because he's been with Paul for some time. At least five years, maybe as many as seven, eight, nine, or ten years. He's walked with the Apostle Paul. He's been involved in the ministry. He's served alongside of him.

And then at some point he decided this present world is better than what is to come. And so he walks away and abandons Paul. It's an important reminder to us to take heed, to pay attention, to stay close, to not get rooted and grounded in this life, but to look to eternity. As we look at Demas, we find that sometimes when you bring people close to you, there will be those that will abandon you. There will be those that hurt you.

That's one of the risks that is taken when we rely upon one another and we become close with one another and we have these links and bonds together, these relationships. God has designed us that we need them and yet sometimes when we establish those relationships, a person will forsake us or abandon us. This tends to make us say, well, forget it.

I don't want to risk it. I don't want that kind of hurt. How will I know if someone will abandon me or not? And so rather than building those relationships, I'll just do it on my own. But again, God has designed us to need one another. He hasn't designed us that we would be able to live life on our own. We need one another. We need to take the risk. We need to acknowledge that, yes, sometimes we will get hurt, but that's not as important.

as our need for one another. Notice that Paul mentions six names in verses 9 through 12. Seventeen names throughout the whole chapter, but these six are people that served alongside him, that were part of the ministry with him. These were Paul's co-laborers. One out of the six abandoned him. What do you think? Is that a pretty good ratio? It might be. If you have six close and good friends, there might be one that will abandon you, that will forsake you, that will hurt you.

It's not every friend will do that, but it's those few. There's those who will. But we often get so focused on that one that hurts us that we forget the other five that are so helpful and beneficial and those that minister to us. Jesus had 12 guys that he kept close to himself. One out of the 12 abandoned him. Again, those are probably fairly accurate odds, a little bit less than what Paul is listing here.

But we find that there will be those that abandon. There will be those relationships that if we build them, if we bring people close to us, there's the risk that they will hurt us. It's not the majority, it's the few. Sometimes we get so focused on those few that we avoid relationships altogether. We isolate ourselves. We try to keep ourselves distant and separate so that we never get hurt, so that nothing ever affects us. And what we end up doing is ruining ourselves because God designed us with a need for others.

I want to encourage you this morning to bring people close to you. And I don't mean just, you know, sitting in the chair next to you, but emotionally, spiritually, there's a need for you to have, there's a need for me to have close friends. Yes, some of them will let you down. Some of them will hurt you. But the majority of them will not. They'll be beneficial to you. And you cannot try to protect yourself from that hurt by never being close to someone because God has designed us with that need for each other. So bring people close.

Build relationships within the body of Christ. There needs to be those types of relationships between you and others. Paul goes on there in verse 10 to talk about two other guys, Crescens and Titus. These guys also left, but not in the same way. They didn't abandon Paul. They were sent out to do ministry. In the same way, there are those who have to leave and it can be devastating or hurtful for us. It's not that they are intentionally hurting us or abandoning us or forsaking us, but they

Life goes on and God calls them elsewhere and that can be difficult and hurtful as well. I know when the Barnetts left, moving to Okinawa, Japan, there was many people who were affected because there was great relationships that had been established. There was great links and many people, well, they really struggled afterwards because those bonds had to be severed in order for them to go to Okinawa.

In the same way when the Reeses left, there was many who were affected, many who were troubled, many who were hurt. The same for when the Hallmans left, or the DeVilles left, or the Barreras left more recently. There was relationships that had been established and it was difficult because now they are going on, God has sent them elsewhere. Although we need to bring people close, we also need to learn to let them go. We need others, so we've established this relationship with them,

But we also need to realize that the universe doesn't center around us and our needs and what we want. Sometimes God has other plans for those that we've built relationships with. Paul was in a time of need. He's calling for Timothy to come to him, but he also at the same time let these other guys go because they needed to go and do what the Lord had called them to do. We need to let them go and not hinder what God wants to do. Paul's in great need. And where does he look?

He looks to the Lord, we'll see that, but he also brings people close to him because he needs other people. It's hard to imagine how the Apostle Paul, he needed Timothy, a younger man who was saved or brought up or raised in ministry by the Apostle Paul, and yet there was this great relationship. It's not about age, it's not about even length of time with the Lord, it's about love for one another.

commitment to one another. Paul goes on to say in verse 11, only Luke is with me. Get Mark and bring him with you for he is useful to me for ministry. So the only one left with the apostle Paul is Luke. Luke is the author of the gospel of Luke and the book of Acts. He was a doctor. Many believe that he was with Paul to attend to his physical needs, the infirmities that he had, the medical issues that he struggled with.

And so Luke is there with him. He's the only one with him, Paul says. And so he tells Timothy, you come to me, but also on the way, get Mark and bring him with you because he's useful to me for the ministry. This guy Mark, his full name is John Mark. He went with Paul and Barnabas on their first missionary journey back in Acts chapter 13. You're probably familiar with that. During the middle of the trip, or really kind of in the beginning of the trip, he

In verse 13 of Acts chapter 13, he departs from them and returns to Jerusalem. So he starts out with them on the missionary journey, but as they head inland, he doesn't go with them. He goes back to Jerusalem. This became a sore point later for the Apostle Paul and Barnabas in Acts chapter 15 as they were getting ready to go again to visit those that they had gone and visited on the missionary journey, the first one.

Barnabas says, "Hey, we need to take John Mark with us." And Paul says, "No way. He abandoned us. He forsook us. He took off when the going got tough, when we were heading inland." And so Paul refuses to take this guy, John Mark. And so Barnabas and Paul at that point part company and they go two separate directions, two separate mission trips. Yet here in 2 Timothy, we see that somewhere along the way a restoration has taken place. John Mark at one time was a point of contention for Paul and Barnabas.

Paul didn't want to have anything to do with them. He didn't want them along for the ministry. And yet now Paul is able to say, bring him because he's useful in the ministry. He's helpful. He's beneficial in the ministry. We find in Colossians chapter 4, which was written about seven years prior to 2 Timothy, that Mark is with Paul. He refers to him in the letter that Mark sends his greetings.

And so we find that somewhere along the line, there's been a restoration that John Mark was alongside of Paul, serving along with him. And at this point, he's somewhere along the way and Paul says, Timothy, bring him with you because he's useful in the ministry. We saw in Demas that some people will hurt you and let you down. But we see here in Mark that when someone who has hurt you, someone who has let you down, when they repent, then we need to reconcile with them. Just as Jesus restored Peter,

After Peter did something similar, denied the Lord three times, vehemently denied the Lord. And yet, afterwards, Jesus restored him, brought him back into a relationship with himself. In the same way, those who have hurt us in the past, when they repent, when they confess, then it's time for us to restore, to be reconciled. And maybe for you, it's time to restore someone in your life.

Maybe it's time someone hurt you. You've been keeping them at bay. You've been staying away from them. But maybe it's time to restore someone. They hurt you a while back, but you need to forgive them. Be reconciled to them as you see the repentance and confession that has taken place. In verse 12, Paul says, In Tychicus I have sent to Ephesus. Tychicus here is another trusted companion of the Apostle Paul. He's probably the one carrying this letter to Timothy.

and it's most likely that he's going to take Timothy's place there in Ephesus, overseeing the church, that Timothy would be free to go and minister to the Apostle Paul. So the only one with him right now is Luke, he says. He says, be diligent to come to me quickly. He'll say it again in verse 21. Do your utmost or do your best. Be diligent to come to me before winter, he will say. This morning, I want to, first of all, encourage you to bring people close. Don't try to live life on your own.

Don't try to make it through flying solo. God has designed it. He's made it so that we need one another. And when you find a lack of people around you, when you find that you don't have those relationships, then call out to someone. Timothy, come to me quickly. I need another brother in my life right now. I need someone to help me along in this time. Bring people close. You're not the lone ranger. I suggest to you that you should have three close friends, intimately close friends, and

On the basis of this passage, Paul says, Luke's with me. You come, Timothy, and bring Mark along the way. Jesus had his 12 disciples, and yet of those 12, he had Peter, James, and John. These three that were closer to him than the rest. Now, I can't say that that's a biblical command, but it's a good suggestion. We need to have people in our lives. I think three is a good number, following the model of Paul and Jesus.

To have good brothers in our lives, good sisters in our lives, people that will surround us, that will support us, that will uphold us, that will minister to us in our times of need as well. It's not all about us. We'll be ministering to them. There'll be this relationship, this back and forth that takes place. But we need that. And let me share with you just one last thing and then we'll move on. You need to not wait until it gets hard to bring people close to you.

Don't wait until the difficult days, until the hard times to try to bring people close to you. I've seen this many times. A particular instance in my mind, I won't share with you the details, but there was this person who was going through probably the most difficult time of his life. And yet, many of us here at the church, we were powerless to really minister to him. We could pray with him, we could encourage him and stuff, share the word with him.

But he had not established any close relationships within the church. We barely knew him, although he had been around for quite a bit of time. And although he was around for a long time and involved in the ministry, there wasn't really anyone that had a close relationship with him. And so as he's going through the hardest time, the most difficult time of his life, it was a great struggle for him because everybody was at a distance because, well, in the midst of it, it's hard to come close.

It's not that it's too late, but it's more difficult now when the trouble has already started. And it was a great struggle for him. And so I share that with you, that you would not wait until it gets hard to establish those relationships. Maybe it's already hard for you, but it's not too late. But we need to establish them now so that later on when things get difficult, when times grow hard, that we already have in place that support to those who administer to us

Those who are close to us, who know us through and through, that we will be able to encourage us and pray with us and come alongside us better than anyone else around us. So number one this morning, bring people close to you. I was really tempted just to spend the whole message this morning talking about that, but there's more things God wants us to see. So look at verse 13. He says, bring the cloak that I left with Carpus at Troas when you come and the books, especially the parchments.

Here the Apostle Paul models for us that we need to get into the Word. As he's asking Timothy to come, he says, there's a couple things along the way I need you to pick up. The cloak that I left with Carpus in Troas. Now it's possible that Paul was arrested in Troas, and so some of the things that he had were left behind there, and that's why Timothy needs to bring them. Speculation, but it's possible.

But he says, bring the cloak. Now, remember in verse 21, Paul goes on to say, hurry up and get here before winter. So we know winter is coming. And with that in mind, Paul, having physical needs, just like the rest of us, he says, I need a cloak. It's getting cold and I need something to keep me warm. So Timothy, bring the cloak that I left there. But he also says, and the books, especially the parchments. What are these books? What are these parchments that Paul is requesting?

Well, I would suggest that most likely these books are the scriptures. Perhaps different books of the Old Testament. Maybe even one of the Gospels because two or three of the Gospels were written by this time when Paul is writing this to Timothy. So it's possible that he had some of the works of Jesus, some of the words of Jesus, some of the Old Testament. We need to get into the Word of God. When times are tough, when things are difficult, summon for the Word. Even if you haven't been in the Word for a while, dig in.

Get into the Word of God. The Word of God is a light unto our path. You want to know what you need to do in the midst of hard times and difficulties? Get into the Word of God. We spent the past few weeks talking about this, and so I won't belabor this point. Suffice it to say, we need to get into the Word of God. And we should not wait for difficulties to start reading the Bible. We need to start now. But in the midst of difficulties, whether or not we've been reading or not, we need to get into the Word.

The Word of God by the Spirit of God will sustain us, will lead us, will guide us, will help us. Verses 14 and 15, we find the third point, let God avenge. He says, Alexander the coppersmith did me much harm. May the Lord repay him according to his works. You also must beware of him, for he has greatly resisted our words. The third thing we find in the Apostle Paul, in the midst of difficulty, in the midst of hard times, is that he is a man of God.

Not only do we need to bring people close, not only do we need to get into the Word, but we need to let God avenge. Paul has this particular person named Alexander. We don't know much about him. He may be the same Alexander that's mentioned in chapter 1 of 1 Timothy. There's a couple Alexanders mentioned in the book of Acts. We don't know if it's the same one or not. But whoever he is, Paul says, he did me much harm. He's done much evil against me. He's done much harm to me.

Some have suggested by this, because of the connection of thoughts, that Paul is saying that Alexander is the one who got him arrested there in Shoaz. Or perhaps that he was a witness against Paul at his first defense, that he stood against Paul. He says he has greatly resisted our words in verse 15. Whatever the case, whatever he had done, this guy had hurt the Apostle Paul severely. But Paul doesn't try to take matters into his own hands.

He doesn't say, Timothy, as you come, make sure you get Alexander, okay? Knock him over the head while he's asleep or something. You know, take the books and smack him over the head with it. He doesn't tell him to do away with him or to pay him back. What does Paul say? He says, may the Lord repay him according to his works. He leaves it in the Lord's hands. He says, I'll wait for the Lord to bring justice. It's what we're commanded to do in the scripture. In Romans chapter 12, verse 19 says,

The Apostle Paul says there, Beloved, do not avenge yourselves, but rather give place to wrath. For it is written, Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord. Vengeance is the Lord's. There is much injustice around us. As we look in this world, there's lots of injustice. And we do not have to sit back and let injustice continue, especially in our nation when we have opportunity to be a part of the process, the government process.

So it's not that we have to let injustice continue, but we must not make it personal to get even with a particular person. Alexander did me much harm. Paul says, may the Lord repay him according to his works. I'm waiting for God to do it. I'm leaving it in the Lord's hands. It's not my place to bring justice to this man, but it's the Lord who will do that. Paul here is giving place to wrath, as he said in Romans 12, 19.

allowing God to take care of the situation. Paul's a great model for us to let God avenge. Even when someone has done him great personal harm, he doesn't personally attack or personally fight back, but he waits for the Lord to do that in his time. The Lord will bring justice. Finally, number four, we learn from the Apostle Paul that we need to focus on the Lord. We find that in verses 16 through 18. Let's read that again.

He says, Amen.

Here the Apostle Paul shows us that we need to focus on the Lord. And four things about this that I want to share with you. First of all, in focusing on the Lord, we need to remember that the Lord is with you. You need to remember the Lord is with you. Paul says, look at my first offense, nobody was with me. This first offense is probably a preliminary hearing there at the Roman court.

And at that hearing, at his first offense, he says, everyone forsook me. Much like they did Jesus at his trial. But like Jesus, Paul does not hold it against them. Because although they forsook him, Paul says, I'm not alone. The Lord was with me. The Lord stood with me and strengthened me, he says there in the first part of verse 17. They all left. They all fled. They forsook me. But the Lord was with me. He did not leave me. He promised. He promised.

In Matthew 28, 20, as he gave us the Great Commission, which we've been looking at over and over again, he says, I am with you always, even to the end of the age. God is with us. Remember the Lord is with you. In the midst of difficulty, in the midst of hard times, don't think that God has forsaken you, even if others has. God is with you. He is by your side, even to the end of the age. Hebrews chapter 13, verse 5, Jesus says, I will never leave you nor forsake you.

He won't leave you. He won't forsake you. He is with you. You may not feel Him. It may not seem like He is with you. But we need to walk by faith and not by sight. Because Jesus promised, I am with you always. I will never leave you nor forsake you. There's that famous poem called Footsteps in the Sand. You've probably seen it around. But it illustrates this point very well. It goes like this. One night a man had a dream.

He dreamed he was walking along the beach with the Lord. Across the sky flashed scenes from his life. For each scene he noticed two sets of footprints in the sand, one belonging to him and the other to the Lord. When the last scene of his life flashed before him, he looked back at the footprints in the sand. He noticed that many times along the path of his life there was only one set of footprints. He also noticed that it happened at the very lowest and saddest times of his life.

This really bothered him and he questioned the Lord about it. "Lord, you said that once I decided to follow you, you'd walk with me all the way. But I have noticed that during the most troublesome times in my life, there is only one set of footprints. I don't understand why when I needed you most, you would leave me." The Lord replied, "My son, my precious child, I love you and I would never leave you. During your times of trial and suffering,

When you see only one set of footprints, it was then that I carried you. It illustrates for us what we see here in the Apostle Paul. Everyone had abandoned him. Everyone had forsook him. Yet God upheld him. God strengthened him and God was with him. In the same way, in the midst of hard times in your life, whatever you face, whatever you come against, or whatever comes against you, remember that the Lord is with you. He loves you. You're his precious child.

It's He who strengthens you. He will not leave you nor forsake you. He has not abandoned you. The Lord is with you, so look to Him for strength. So in focusing on the Lord, we need to remember that the Lord is with you. The second thing we find here is that you need to embrace the Lord's purpose for your life. In the midst of hard time, in the midst of difficulty, in the midst of perhaps the hardest things you've ever faced,

You need to embrace the Lord's purpose for your life. Look at verse 17. Paul goes on to say, But the Lord stood by me and strengthened me, so that... Why did the Lord stand by me? Why did the Lord strengthen me? So that the message might be preached fully through me and that all the Gentiles might hear. And I was delivered out of the mouth of the lion. Paul says, so that... The reason why the Lord was with me, the reason why the Lord strengthened me is so that I could preach the gospel.

When you're facing difficult times, when you're going through the hardest things you've ever faced, you need to embrace the Lord's purpose for your life because that is what you are here for. God has left us here as believers in Jesus Christ. We're here on this earth. We've been given the great commission as our mission to go into all the world and make disciples. The reason why we're here is that we would preach the gospel.

That the gospel might be fully preached through us and that all the Gentiles might hear that the world would know of Jesus Christ and his love for us. That is our purpose. That is what we're here for. And often we fight against that purpose.

We run from that purpose. We try not to fulfill that purpose. But especially in the midst of difficult times, we need to embrace that purpose. Understanding that whatever we're going through, God is seeking to use it to bring glory to His name and bring people around us to the saving knowledge of Him.

You will never be satisfied until you embrace the Lord's purpose for your life. You were created to have relationship with God, to worship Him, to be a witness of Him to the world around you. And if you're not living for that purpose, you will not be satisfied. If you're trying to live your own life with your own goals and your purposes, you'll be miserable for your whole life. You'll never be satisfied.

Because it's not what you were created for. You were created for the glory of God. To walk in relationship with Him, to worship Him, and to be a witness of Him to the world around you. So embrace the Lord's purpose for your life. Paul's going through hard times. He's having difficulty. He's in prison, which is not easy. But he's able to say that God was with me. He strengthened me so that by this whole situation and by me, even though I don't like these circumstances, through this...

It's so that the message might be preached fully through me and that all the Gentiles might hear. He embraced the Lord's purpose for his life and you and I need to do the same. In focusing on the Lord, we need to remember that the Lord is with us. We also need to embrace the Lord's purpose for our lives. Thirdly, we need to accept the Lord's perspective. The last part of 17 and the first part of 18 says, And I was delivered out of the mouth of the lion.

And the Lord will deliver me from every evil work and preserve me for his heavenly kingdom. This portion, again, I was tempted to just spend one whole Sunday looking at this because there's so much depth to this. And perhaps it's a little deep for Sunday morning, but bear with me. Paul says, I was delivered. Not only that, but the Lord will deliver me from every evil work. And yet consider for a moment, as Paul says he is delivered from,

As he's writing this, he is bound. He is in prison. He's just finished expressing to Timothy that he's going to be executed. He's about to end. His life is about to be ended. Now, knowing that, would you be able to say that he is delivered? He has been delivered and he is going to be delivered. It doesn't equate in our minds. It doesn't add up. How can you be delivered but still be executed?

in prison and bound and awaiting your execution? How can you say that you will be delivered from every evil work and yet you're awaiting to be beheaded? That is why we must accept the Lord's perspective. You know, the Lord, He's not focused on this life. He has the eternal perspective. Because life is not just what takes place here on this earth. But God has in mind what is best for us for the rest of eternity.

Right now, in reading through the Bible in a year, we're dealing with the book of Job. We just finished it this morning. It's an interesting book because of all of the tragedy that Job experiences. Probably far worse than you and I have ever experienced. And in dealing with the book of Job, the question is asked, how could God allow this? Are the bad things that happen to us in this life evil? Paul says, the Lord will deliver me from every evil work. We could look at the life of Job and say, man, the Lord didn't deliver him from evil.

We can look at our own lives and think the same thing. Man, God hasn't delivered me from evil. Look at all of the things I'm suffering. Look at all the things that I'm going through. Look at all the things that have come against me. But when we consider it that way, we're limited looking at the perspective of this life. And we need to accept the Lord's perspective and that is of eternity. Let me ask you a question. What is evil? Bad things, hard times, difficult days. Are those evil?

Maybe I could ask it another way, illustrate it another way. Is it evil to go up to a person and cut them with a knife? Is it evil that because of the cutting that takes place, they spend months in physical therapy, learning again to walk or learning again to move as they once did? Is it evil to do that? Well, if you're in a dark alley and that happens, yeah, it's probably evil. What about the surgeon who cuts open?

who uses the knife to cut open, to work, as a result of the surgery, there's therapy that needs to happen, there's a time of healing and restoration, and sometimes it takes great lengths of time, depending on the surgery. Would you say that what the surgeon does is evil? Well, no, of course not. Even if the patient dies on the table, it's still not evil, because it's based on the intent and the purpose of the action. The Lord, like a surgeon,

sometimes opens us up. And he does things that, well, normally with a limited perspective we would consider it evil. Taking things from us, purging us sometimes of sin or other elements in our lives. And we think, man, it's evil. I can't believe I lost my job. It's so unfair. I lost my home. Or my credit is so messed up because of this divorce or whatever the case is.

We experience hard days and difficult times and we think, it's evil. But in reality, God only allows in our lives what comes through the filter of His love that will be beneficial for us for eternity. And so even though Paul is there in prison and he's awaiting execution, he could say, the Lord will deliver me from every evil because for a Christian, execution and death is not evil.

Because through it, God will be doing a work that will benefit us for the rest of eternity. Everything in your life, everything in my life, if you're a believer in Jesus Christ, it's not an evil work.

No matter how you look at it, no matter how you try to argue and think, no, this is evil. It's not an evil work. Romans chapter 8 verse 28 says, And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose. So even if you're in prison, even if you're going to be executed, even if it's the worst thing you've ever experienced and worse than anything else anybody else has ever experienced.

It's not an evil work. Because if you love God, if you're called according to His purpose, He works it together for good. The end result is good. It's not evil. The Lord allows it in your life because it's good for you. And you need it. And it's necessary for us, for God to bring us to the place that He wants us to be that we might be blessed for the rest of eternity. We need to accept the Lord's perspective and reject our perspective no matter what we're facing.

Whether it's an ailment or a situation or circumstances or someone coming against us, trials or judges, it's not an evil work. You're in the Lord's hands. And He will cause every single thing in your life to work together for good. If you love God and are called according to His purpose. Accept His perspective. You may not see it. Again, we walk by faith and not by sight. But for those who love God, nothing in their life is evil. Because God works it together for good.

If we only look at this life, we will determine that it's evil. But if we accept the Lord's perspective, if we look at eternity, we'll understand. If you're a believer in Jesus Christ, if you love God, when you enter into eternity, there will be nothing in your life that you can look back on and say, Lord, I wish you wouldn't have done that. I wish you wouldn't have allowed that. Once you get to the other side, once you get to see what the Lord's plan was, you'll thank Him. Lord, thank you for performing surgery.

for taking the knife and cutting deep, for dealing with those things. I needed it. Thank you. We need to accept the Lord's perspective. Finally, Paul says in the last part of verse 18, to him be glory forever and ever. Amen. In focusing on the Lord, the fourth thing is we must give glory to the Lord. To him be glory. Because it's all about him. He's the one doing the work. He's the one working all things together for good. What's our job? To praise him. To worship him. To give him glory.

The Lord is the one who is with us and strengthens us. He's the one who gives us the opportunity to preach the gospel. He's the one who works all things together for good. So let's give Him glory. Let's honor Him with our praise, with our mouths, with our lives. Let's honor the Lord.

Paul ends the letter with verses 19 through 22, some final greetings. He says, He gives his final greetings more people. And so I bring it back to what we started with.

If you're experiencing, well, whether or not you're experiencing hard times and difficulties, we learn from the Apostle Paul, here's what we need to do. We need to bring people close. We can't fly solo. We're not the Christian Lone Ranger. You and I, we need solid brothers and sisters in the Lord around us. We've been looking at Wednesdays about ministering to one another, and that's important that we minister to those people around us. But we can't just have it like a one-way traffic.

I'll minister to you, but you can't minister to me. Not only do we need to minister to them, but we need to allow them. We need to put ourselves in a place of, some would call it vulnerability, openness, that they'd be able to minister to us and help us and strengthen us in hard times of need. We need to call out to people. And if you don't have someone to call out to, then I encourage you, after the service, there'll be people up here who would love to pray with you and agree with you. That's what they're here for. Call out to them. They'd love to take part.

and what God is doing in your life. We need to bring people close. Number two, we need to get into the Word of God, spending time in His Word. It's so important for us as Christians. We also need to let God avenge. Let Him have the final say. Let Him do the work and bring justice to the situation. We need to have the eternal perspective and know God will take care of it. He will not allow injustice. And we need to focus on the Lord.

Number one, remembering that the Lord is with us. Number two, embracing the Lord's purpose for your life. Number three, accepting the Lord's perspective. And number four, giving glory to the Lord. Like I said, there's so much here. I ask you, I beg you, spend some time on your own. Read through these verses again. Consider and meditate on the things that the Lord has shared with us this morning. Because there's great truth. There's great need for us to apply these things to our own lives. Finally, I'll close with this.

In verse 18 again it says, For those who love God and are called according to His purpose, God works all things together for good. But if this morning, as you're listening to this, you're not in a relationship with God, you're not born again, you're not walking in relationship with Him, then this promise isn't for you. The promise that God works all things together for good is to those who love Him and are called according to His purpose.

Those who love God, those who are walking with Him, those who are serving Him. And so the evil works that take place in your life are indeed that. Because you don't have the promise that God works all things together for good. And yet, the promise can be yours. And all of the things that you have considered to be evil works in your life right now and up to this point, God can still turn them for good. It's not too late if you will turn to Him and receive Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior. And so I would ask you, if you need a right relationship with God,

Again, there will be people up here after the service who would love to pray with you and agree with you and help you make that decision to follow Jesus Christ. Get right with God. You can claim the promise and there will be nothing evil in your life. God will work every single detail for good. Let's pray. Heavenly Father, Lord, we face hard times. We have difficult days just like the Apostle Paul. But God, I pray that you would help us not to try to face these on our own strength, but

not to try to do it ourselves, but Lord, to follow the example that you've given us in the Apostle Paul. Lord, help us to bring others around us. Lord, it's difficult. We're full of pride. We don't like others to know what we struggle with and the things that we face, but Lord, we need it. We need one another. So God, I pray that you would help us by your Holy Spirit to humble ourselves and to open ourselves up to establish those relationships around us that we might be strengthened and supported in those things that we will face.

in the days to come. God, I pray that you would help us to get into your word, to thirst for it. Lord, your word is so powerful and profitable for us. May we treat it appropriately, God. May we commit ourselves to reading your word. Lord, I pray that you would help us not to avenge ourselves and those people that come against us, those people that do us great harm. Lord, help us to leave it in your hands, to allow you to do the work and bring justice to the situation. God, this morning I pray that you would help us to focus on you.

knowing that you will never leave us nor forsake us. Lord, knowing that it's you who strengthens us. Lord, I pray that you would help us to embrace your plan for our life, your purpose, that you might be known, that you might be glorified through our life here on this earth. Lord, I pray that you would help us to accept your perspective, not just focused on this life, not loving this present world, but looking to eternity, knowing that you will work all things together for good. And God, I pray that we would glorify you.

that we would bring honor to your name, that people would come to know you as a result of the lives that we live and the relationship that we have with you. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen. We pray you have been blessed by this Bible teaching. The power of God to change a life is found in the daily reading of his word. Visit ferventword.com to find more teachings and Bible study resources.